


Moments in Time

by windstar127



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-16
Updated: 2013-01-11
Packaged: 2017-11-12 06:11:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/487609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windstar127/pseuds/windstar127
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles with help from the randomized prompt generator.<br/>Spoilers for ME2, ME3, extended cut DLC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Procrastination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joker/Legion: ways to procrastinate

Like many other things in one Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau's life, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. In retrospect, it probably wasn't. But what else was he supposed to do for a day and a half while they 'upgraded' his ship? Sure, it was officially Shepard's ship, but everyone knew it was his. OK, his and EDI's. Maybe even more EDI's than his if he had to admit, which he did every now and then. And yeah, maybe Shepard assumed he would, you know, help with the upgrades, but that's what EDI was there for, right? And a guy had to do something to pass the time.

Which was why he challenged Legion (being the only other gamer on board that he knew) to a friendly game of N7 Code of Honor: Medal of Duty. Emphasis on the 'friendly', which lasted all of maybe 15 minutes, before it devolved into an all out virtual brawl that lasted for the next 20 hours. Whatever EDI said, he didn't need her help. Really, honest, true to God didn't. He could play a damn game by himself. Too bad he forgot that geth didn't need to eat...or sleep...or use the bathroom. OK, so maybe he did need EDI's help every now and then.

He still lost. Repeatedly. When Shepard and company came back from shore leave, he was still trying valiantly to win and still failing. Shepard didn't even say anything. She just gave him that look he had come to know and appreciate, the patented 'Joker, I don't know what the fuck you're doing and I don't want to know, but stop it right the fuck now' look, with extra profanity even, before she and Liara headed back to her cabin. He muttered something about Vaenia (which Legion had never heard of. Apparently geth don't know everything about the extranet), but he did stop playing. For now.

Next time, next time he was challenging that little synthetic bastard to game of Fleet and Flotilla.


	2. Embarassment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard/Aethyta: black eye

"Hell of shiner you've got there, Shepard," the asari matriarch leaned back in her chair and toyed with her beer. "Haven't you learned how to duck by now?"

Shepard glared silently at her soon-to-be father-in-law and motioned for a beer of her own. She drained it as soon as it arrived. "I _did_ duck," she snarled, setting down the now empty beer stein.

"So what the fuck happened to you?" Aethyta didn't even bother to hide her snickers. "Who's the lucky bastard that landed a hit on the great Commander Shepard?"

Shepard didn't bother dignifying that with a response but instead called for another drink. The answer, not unsurprisingly, was Liara. Since Liara wasn't here, and Aethyta was already too curious about her love life, it was in her best interests not to say anything. Unfortunately for her, several centuries of bartending on Illium meant the Aethyta was very very good at reading between the lines, particularly where relationships (and more to the point, sex) were involved.

"Wait a second, should I be congratulating that kid of mine?" Aethyta's snickers turned into a flat out smirk. "And here I was afraid she was some kind of a fucking prude, the way she keeps carrying on. Good to see that Nezzie taught her some things after all. Did she pull out the commando leathers for that one?"

Shepard choked on her beer and sputtered. There were some things she didn't want her father-in-law speculating about, but Aethyta was the definition of 'dirty old man'. Dirty old asari matriarch if she had to be precise. "No," she spat out with as much dignity as she could muster, "she didn't. It's not what you think."

"Course it wasn't, kid," Aethyta slapped her on the back. "Lemme give you some advice. If she's anything like my Nezzie, that sort of thing really turns her on even if she'll never admit it. Bet she like it rough too, so let her have her fun."

Shepard winced at the leering asari, who showed no signs of stopping drinking or talking. In truth, the black eye was from an honest-to-goodness sparring match with Liara, where she ducked to avoid the biotic surge only to miss the physical punch a split second later. (Garrus and Tali were still snickering about seeing Liara knock her flat on her ass.) Liara had been very apologetic about it, particularly since she knew Shepard's plans for the afternoon involved Aethyta. She, on the other hand, had blown it off with a "What's the worst that could happen? I've already been punched out by my girlfriend." attitude.

"So, does that girl of mine have Nezzie's taste in toys too?" Subtlety was not Aethyta's stong point, particularly not when drunk. Other patrons turned to look at them.

Shepard resisted the urge to hide under the table. Her blithe response to Liara's earlier concern was misplaced. That black eye was much less embarrassing than a drunk and reminiscing Aethyta.


	3. Dress up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> f!Shepard, Joker: A new pair of boots

This one was going to get filed under 'Seemed like a good idea at the time, but dear God don't let the Commander find out." If anyone asked, he was blaming it on EDI. It wasn't his fault for once. Really. OK, so he might have a been a little drunk and might have let slip to EDI that yes, he did find women in uniform attractive, and that yes, if she really had to ask, he did think Shepard was one hell of a woman. One who was his superior officer, could break him in half without thinking about it, and practically married to the most dangerous information broker in the galaxy. (Guess which one scared him the most?)

But he wasn't responsible for EDI's new fascination with clothing. Particularly Alliance uniforms, (though if Legion could get away with using Shepard's old N7 armor to patch himself up, EDI was probably allowed the same amount of leeway, right? A guy could hope.) and more specifically, the nice shiny black boots that came with the dress blues. (What was it about women and shoes? Hell, EDI wasn't even organic). And apparently, since EDI was the ship and had her little cameras everywhere, the only person who had her dress blues onboard was Shepard.

All of which meant that it could have conceivably been his fault that EDI took it upon herself to try on said black boots. Without telling Shepard she had done so. That wasn't going to be good. Not that EDI didn't look damn good in those boots, but this was going to shorten his lifespan considerably faster than the Reapers would when Shepard found out about it.

Which happened approximately thirty seconds ago when Shepard and her girlfriend the Shadow Broker walked into the AI core on business and found the two of them playing dress up with Shepard's uniform. OK, EDI playing dress up and him watching and making appreciative comments, because it would have been rude if he didn't. Honest.

"Joker, EDI, you owe me a new pair of boots," Shepard said, deadpan, as if she hadn't actually seen what they were doing. Liara whispered something in Shepard's ear and then buried her face in Shepard's shoulder to muffle her laughs.

"Yes, ma'am," came a pair of chagrined voices, one organic and one synthetic. He didn't realize EDI's programming even had the 'embarrassed and apologetic' feature.

"And Joker, if I don't get them in the next standard week, I'm taking away your coffee and giving you decaf for the rest of this joyride," Shepard called as she dragged the giggling Shadow Broker out.

That was bad. Shepard never joked about coffee.

Now just where was he supposed to find another pair of boots...


	4. Broken Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liara/Shepard: Promises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for ME3, extended cut DLC

"I need to know you're always coming back," she had told Shepard once. Was it only 6 months ago? It seemed like a lifetime ago. Maybe it was. And Shepard had promised she would.

Shepard always kept her promises.

So she tried not to worry, not even with the Reapers and Cerberus and the war going on. Because Shepard always kept her promises. Then the Crucible fired, and the strange green energy changed everyone and everything. The Reapers broke off the attack and made peace of their own accord. They'd won, and she waited for news of Shepard. No news ever came, but still she tried not to worry. 

Shepard always kept her promises.

It wasn't until she held Shepard's nameplate in her hands and looked up at the memorial wall in the Normandy that it finally hit her. Shepard wasn't coming back this time. Her hands trembled as she put her lover's name on the wall. And then she cried.

It was the only time that Shepard ever broke her promise.


	5. At all costs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liara, Feron: At all costs

They shouldn't have been able to do it, but they did. Cerberus had Shepard now, not the Collectors. Not the Shadow Broker. She didn't like Cerberus, but they were the only hope she had. The only hope Shepard had.

Shepard, her Shepard...as long as she hadn't seen the body, she could still hold out the forlorn hope that Shepard had survived. That Shepard wasn't dead, wasn't just a hunk of meat and metal in a cryotube.

But she had, and there was no time to mourn her dead. There had been just enough time to catch her breath and steel her resolve before plunging right back into the mess she left behind. She rescued Shepard...what was left of Shepard...but lost Feron to the Shadow Broker. There was no time to mourn the dead when the living still needed her help. She owed Feron, and she would repay her debts.

She would build up her information network and track down the Shadow Broker at all costs. She couldn't save Shepard, but she might still be able to save Feron.

Shepard would approve.


	6. Omega

Aria and Nyreen bickered like an old married couple. No, scratch that, they _were_ an old married couple, no matter how much both of them might disagree with that statement.

Aria bullied, badgered, annoyed, and insulted Nyreen. Nyreen, in return, ignored, snapped at, rolled her eyes at, and insulted Aria. And during all of it, neither failed to watch the other's back. Aria tried to hide it, but to someone rather well versed in asari emotions at this point, her concern for Nyreen was blatantly obvious. Nyreen, being a turian, was only slightly harder to read.

Shephard had, in the few spare moments she had to think of something other than the Reapers and the destruction of the galaxy, wondered if she and Liara were ever that bad. Hopefully not.

(Joker, Garrus, Tali, and three quarters of the Normandy crew would respectfully disagree. Shepard and Liara were far worse.)

So when Shepard rounded the corner with Aria a step behind her and saw that familar shiloette surrounded by adjucants and heard that explosion not a second later, she didn't have have to turn around to know what Aria looked like. Or what she felt like.

And when the Cerberus general begged for his sorry life, she stood back, arms crossed, and watched. Aria's face was a frozen mask of rage, her eyes going almost black as the general struggled to breath. A better person might have stopped her, but Shepard wasn't that person. Not today.

Not when she pictured Liara in Nyreen's place.

She would let Aria have her revenge.

Then she would return to the Normandy, hug Liara, and never let her go.


End file.
